Falling
by purplestarz2006
Summary: Completed! Satine suffers another fall during rehursal, but this time no one is there to catch her.
1. Default Chapter

Falling 

Summary: Satine suffers another fall during rehearsals, but this time Chocolat isn't there to catch her.

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge.

Kiss...Hand...Diamonds best friend,Kiss...Grand...Diamonds best friend 

Christian sat from his position in the audience, watching Satine rehearse. It had been the best day of rehearsals, in his opinion, the show had ever had. The Duke had been diagnosed with food poisoning the night before, and it had been confirmed that he would not be able to attend rehearsals for at least two weeks. This was especially good news for Satine and Christian, but everyone seemed to be a little relived that the Duke was not breathing down their necks for awhile.

Men...Cold Girls...Old 

_And we all lose our charms in the end_

Satine felt herself being lifted up onto the stairs in the center of the stage. She hated this part of her routine with a passion. It always made her so nervous. One wrong step and she would go flying off of the stairs. Although it had not happened yet, Satine had a feeling that her fall was inevitable.

Satine's feeling would prove correct. As she started to dance downstage, she felt herself losing her footing.

Diamonds are a, diamonds are a, diamonds are...AHHHH!" 

Satine let out a loud scream as she fell, smacking the side of her head on the stage floor. For a moment, everyone waited to see if she could get up. When it was obvious that she could not, everyone in the rehearsal hall rushed to her aid. Christian shoved his way through the crowd and knelt down opposite Harold, who looked at a loss about what to do. Christian gently stroked Satine's face. Her eyes were rolled back into her head. "Harold, see if you can get a pulse" someone shouted from the crowd.

When Harold confirmed that she had a pulse, Christian began talking to her softly, to try and wake her up. "Satine, wake up. It's alright, Come on, angel." He stopped himself at using his pet names for Satine. Granted, "angel" was a common pet name for her with almost everyone at the Moulin Rouge, but he didn't want to take any chances. After all, no one was supposed to know they were in love.

"Come on, Satine, wake up for us.

A.N. Well, how is it so far? Please review! The next chapter will be up very soon, I promise.


	2. Chapter Two

Falling Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge 

A.N. Thanks for the good reviews! It's so motivating to hear (or read) someone praising what I do for a change! (Let's just say my writing doesn't go over so well with my English teacher) Ok, enough venting. Back to the story!

Seven minutes later, Christian was still next to Satine, only now she was on his bed and he was sitting beside her. He stroked her hair while he debated calling a doctor. Most doctors didn't put Montmartre high on their priority list, so finding one who would give Satine the help she needed would be a challenge. Suddenly, a sound pulled him out of his debate.

"Christian

Satine was awake. As she slowly regained consciousness and her vision became less blurry, she was able to make out Christian standing over her. However, he was all that she could see clearly. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know how she got there, and she really didn't know why she had the most blinding pain she had ever experienced in her head. Normally, she had been taught to hide pain but this was too much for her. She began to cry.

Christian gently kissed her face in an attempt to comfort her. "It's alright now, angel. You're going to be fine" he said, not knowing how much pain she was in. In his mind, her tears were because she had been shaken up by the fall.

"Christian, make it stop hurting! Please!" Satine had never felt a pain like this before. All of her coughing fits and fainting spells seemed like nothing compared to this. As Christian tried to find a way to help her, the pain became too much. She let out a loud scream. Christian sat down beside her on the bed and sang to her until he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to find Toulouse standing there with a man he had never met before.

"Christian, this is Dr. Elfada. I took the liberty of bringing him over here" Toulouse was interrupted by another loud scream from Satine. "and it looks like we're just in time.

The doctor began examining Satine. Christian grabbed Satine's hand and watched. After a few minutes, the doctor began to rummage through his bag for something. He handed Christian a small bottle of medicine. "Satine seems to have a very minor concussion. She'll be fine in a few days, but for awhile she's going to be a little confused and foggy, so I wouldn't have her go out much. The medicine I gave you is for the pain. I assume you don't want to spend three days listening to her cry and scream.

Christian and Toulouse thanked the doctor as he left. Christian picked up the medicine bottle and sat down next to Satine.

"Ok, Satine, can you open up your mouth for me?" Christian could sense Satine's pain getting worse. Her eyes were starting to roll up into her head again. Satine's world was spinning. She could hear Christian saying something about medicine and her having to open her mouth. She felt a bitter liquid being forced down her throat and heard Christian telling her she would be better soon. She hoped that "soon" was not far away as everything went black.

About an hour later, Satine woke up again. This time, the pain in her head was gone. However, it took her a few moments to realize where she was. Eventually, she realized she was in Christian's apartment, but...why? What was she doing there in the middle of the day? She should be at rehearsals right now. Satine leaped out of bed, but a sudden dizziness pulled her back down. Everything started to spin again and Satine had no choice but to lie back down.

Christian heard her moving around and came back into the room. "Oh, you're awake! Did the medicine help at all?" he asked. From Satine's weak nod, he gathered that something else was wrong now. "Satine, are you alright?" he asked as he sat down beside her on the bed. Satine's dizziness had lessened, and she was able to sit up. She looked at Christian, and said, "Yes, I'm fine. It's just that...why am I here?"

Christian put his hand on her shoulder. "Well, I'm taking care of you after your fall today"

"My fall? Did I fall today?" Satine seemed very confused.

Christian knew this was going to be a long recovery, for both Satine and him.

A.N. Once again, please review! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!


	3. Chapter 3

Falling Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge 

A.N. Once again, thanks to all the people who've reviewed so far. I'm glad you are enjoying the story.

_"My fall?" Did I fall today?" Satine asked. She seemed very confused. _

Christian didn't quite understand how Satine could forget an event like her fall. "Yes angel. You fell off of the stairs while you were dancing, don't you remember?

Satine thought for a moment. "No, I don't remember that.

For a moment Christian was afraid she had lost her entire memory. "Satine, you still remember who you are, right? And who I am, and where you are?

Satine giggled a little. "Yes, Christian. I remember who I am, and who you are. And I know where I am. I just don't really remember how or why I'm here. When exactly did this fall happen?

"Well, you were dancing down those stairs" Christian began to answer but was interrupted by Satine.

"What stairs? And why was I dancing down them?

Satine's questions were starting to worry Christian. "Angel, the stairs in the show, remember? In your first number you have to dance down the stairs. Satine, are you sure you're alright?

Satine smiled and said "Yes, Christian. I'm fine." In reality, though, she was just as scared as Christian was. She knew what he was talking about. She knew she was starring in a show, and she knew about her number on the stairs. But at the same time, none of what Christian was saying was making any sense to her.

Over the next few hours, Christian did nothing but sit and talk to Satine. Even though she said she was fine, Christian didn't believe her. And he was right not to. As they talked, he noticed that something was not right. Usually, Satine stared directly into his eyes when they talked, but this time she seemed distracted. Her eyes kept darting around the room, as if she was seeing it for the first time.

"Satine, something is wrong with you." Christian said as someone knocked at the door. It was Toulouse.

"Just came by to see how she's doing. Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling?" Toulouse was happy to see Satine had woken up and wasn't screaming anymore.

"Well, actually Toulouse, I've felt better." Satine was now very scared. She had always been very proud of the fact that she was always very focused and on top of things. But now, things seemed different. For some reason Christian's apartment, as sparsely furnished as it was, seemed like the whole world to her. Satine explained this to Christian and Toulouse.

"It's really scaring me! I just want things to get back to normal, or as normal as things get for me.

Christian sat down next to Satine and rubbed her back while Toulouse talked about what had happened after he left with the doctor.

"Well, everyone is worried about you across the street. You shook up Harold quite a bit. They've been rehearsing a little, but not much. You haven't missed much, dear.

As he spoke Satine thought to herself "Across the street? Why are the people across the street...Oh, that's the Moulin Rouge. Why did it take me that long to remember that?

Toulouse told Christian that Harold had suggested that Satine come back to rehearsals the next day, not so much to actually rehearse as much as to let everyone know she was alright. As much as it scared both of them for Satine to leave the garret, they agreed.

Satine didn't sleep very much that night. The pain in her head kept coming back, though not as badly as before. And she kept hearing strange noises that she couldn't identify. She spent most of the night wide awake, clutching Christian's arm.

As she finally drifted off, she thought "I have to get better. I can't let everyone get even more worried tomorrow.

A,N. Sorry this chapter took a little longer-I have 2 projects for school going on at the same time. But soon (June 15th! ) school will be done. Anyway, please review! The next chapter will be up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Falling :::::: Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge 

The next morning, Christian and Satine walked across the street to the Moulin Rouge. Satine seemed very nervous, and was glad when Christian reached over and touched her hand.

"Christian, you go in first. I'm scared." Satine said. She wasn't quite sure why she was scared. After all, she was just going into the Moulin Rouge, a place where she had spent the better part of the last ten years. Still even being outside Christian's apartment made her feel unsafe. She felt like she was a small child separated from her parents in a new city. Everything seemed bigger and more ominous than it had before her fall, which she still could not remember happening.

They stopped walking, and Christian looked at Satine. "Scared? Satine, you know you have nothing to be scared of. We're just walking across the street. You're just going to work" he said. As Christian looked into Satine's eyes, he saw a fear that he had not seen on Satine before. He began to have doubts as to whether Satine was really ready to go back to work. If a walk across the street was scaring her, he was not anxious to find out how she would fare at the Moulin Rouge. However, everyone there was expecting them so he decided to take Satine in, show everyone she was still alive, and then get her out of there as fast as possible. They began walking again. When they got to the front door, Satine tightened her grip on Christian's hand.

"You're going to stay with me, right? You're not going to leave me alone?" Satine asked. Christian gently stroked her face and said "Of course I'm staying with you. We're not going to stay for that long. I don't think you're quite ready to stay all day yet. Now come on, let's go inside.

Satine maintained her death grip on Christian's hand as he opened the door. She looked around at the rehearsal in progress. If Satine had been scared outside on the street, now she was terrified. Christian led her through what seemed like the biggest crowd of people she had ever seen to Harold and Toulouse. For the moment, it had completely escaped Satine's mind that she knew every single one of the people in the room. At that moment all of them were scary to her. The "lost child in the city" feeling came creeping back as her and Christian reached the front of the room. She was glad to see Toulouse and Harold, both of whom she at least vaguely recognized. Christian tapped Harold on the shoulder, and when Harold turned around he seemed overjoyed to see Satine.

"Chickpea, you're alright! You gave us quite a scare yesterday with that fall. How are you feeling?

Despite the fact that Satine had heard Harold's loud, boisterous voice many times before, at that moment it scared her. She wasn't quite sure why, but she receded behind Christian and whimpered a little bit.

"She's been better." Christian said in response to Harold's question.

Toulouse walked over to Satine. "What's wrong? You seemed fine yesterday", he asked gently as not to scare her more.

Satine wasn't quite sure how to answer his question. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She looked around her. Everything and everyone seemed familiar, but at the same time it was very new and scary. Her fear was only added to by the knowledge that she shouldn't be afraid and that something was most likely wrong with her. At that moment, all of the noise in the rehearsal hall seemed to intensify. Her world was spinning again. Satine couldn't take it anymore. She dropped to her knees and held onto Christian's legs. "Christian, I want to go home! I'm scared. I can't..." Satine was unable to finish her sentence as she burst into tears.

Everyone in the rehearsal had now stopped what they were doing and was watching Satine have her breakdown. "Take her backstage." Harold whispered to Christian. Christian somehow managed to lift her off of his legs and into his arms. He hushed her softly as he carried her backstage to her dressing room. He sat down with her on his lap.

"Shhh. It's alright, Satine. It's ok. You're safe. I'm here. Calm down." Eventually his efforts to comfort Satine worked and she fell asleep on his lap. Just as she was falling asleep, Harold and Toulouse came in.

"Christian, what is wrong with her?" Harold asked. "Toulouse said she looked fine yesterday.

Christian looked at Satine and then back at Harold. "I'm really not sure. She seemed fine last night, but then this morning she seemed afraid of everything outside my apartment. As soon as I took her onto the street she had my hand in a death grip. She only came inside after making me assure her that I would stay with her. She says that she remembers everyone and everything but I'm not so sure. The way she's been acting, it's like she's experiencing all of this for the first time.

Marie, who had just entered the room, said, "You don't know how right you are.

"What do you mean?" asked Christian.

"She's right, Christian. What happened out there was exactly like what happened Satine's first day here." Harold said.

"Why? What happened?" Christian asked.

"Poor thing. I had to lead her in by the hand, just like you did. All of the girls are a little nervous their first day but Satine, well, she was the most afraid out of anyone I've seen come in here. The farther in we walked, the tighter she grabbed my hand. When I showed her to Harold, she ducked behind me just like she ducked behind you. It took at least three days before she would let me out of her sight." Marie explained.

Christian looked at Satine sleeping on his lap. He started to stroke her hair, but stopped himself upon remembering their love affair was supposed to be kept secret. Instead, he urged Marie to continue. "How old was she?

"Couldn't have been more than 16, 17. Not the youngest girl we've had start here, but nowhere near ready to be here.

Christian knew he had to get out of there. Not only for Satine's sake, but for his own as well. The more of this story he was hearing, the harder it was to hold back his affection for Satine. "Harold, I think it would be best if I took Satine back home with me. I don't think anything constructive is going to come out of her staying here all day.

Harold nodded. "Yes, I think it's best if you take her home. But if you could, try to run some lines with her. I don't want my lead actress getting too out of shape.

Christian lifted the sleeping Sparkling Diamond into his arms and carried her back to his apartment. Once he had tucked her in the bed, he sat and stroked her hair. He thought of Harold not wanting his actress to be too out of shape. "Hoe could he say that? She couldn't get any more out of shape than this." Christian thought.

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Everything will be fine, sweetheart. Everything will be fine.", he said not so much for Satine's assurance as for his own.


	5. Chapter 5

Falling 

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge.

A.N. Thanks for the positive reviews. Sorry if this story seems to be moving slowly, but the horror known as final exams is fast approaching so I have to be a good little student and study, study, study!

A few hours later, Satine woke up. She looked to her left to see Christian at his typewriter. He was so focused on what he was doing he didn't notice she was awake. Suddenly Satine remembered what had happened that morning and began to cry. The sound of her crying broke Christian's concentration and he rushed to her side.

"Satine, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know, Christian. That's the problem. I don't know what's wrong with me!" Satine said through her tears.

"Satine, you're going to be fine. You just weren't ready to go back yet, that's all. We'll try going back again in a week or so. Maybe you'll be ready by then.

"But what about the show, Christian? I need to keep rehearsing." Satine said. Christian walked over to his desk and grabbed the script for the show. "Well, for now we're going to rehearse right here, just the two of us" he said.

Christian opened up the script to a random page. "Alright, let's start from the scene where the evil maharajah" Christian's voice trailed off. He hadn't given the Duke a second thought. "If he comes back to work and she is still like this, we are going to have major problems" he thought. He kept these thoughts to himself for now. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Satine even more.

"The evil maharajah what?" Satine asked.

"Actually, why don't we just take it from the beginning, from your first entrance." Christian replied. Satine thought for a moment, and began to sing.

Kiss...Hand... 

Suddenly the words didn't come so easily to Satine. She couldn't remember the next line to the song. She looked at Christian, who was starting to look worried again. She hated to make him worry like that. "What is the next line? I should know this" she thought. A desperate look filled her eyes as she struggled to remember the next line to the song.

Christian saw her desperation and supplied her with the next line.

"It's "Diamonds best friend", remember?

"Yes, yes of course. It just slipped from my mind, that's all. I'm fine." As Satine spoke she looked at Christian as though she wanted him to verify that she was alright.

Christian nodded. "Yes, you're fine. Let's just keep going, alright?

Satine nodded and the two of them tried to continue their rehearsal. However, not much progress was made. Many more of Satine's lines slipped from her mind. Christian never grew frustrated or angry with Satine, but he did get more and more worried each time she forgot a line. Around the tenth time she forgot a line, in the second scene of the play, Satine broke down and started to cry. Christian got up from the foot of the bed and sat down next to her.

"This is so scary, Christian! I know that I knew all of these lines three days ago. Why don't I remember them now?

Christian pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her. "I'm not sure what's going on, Satine. But don't worry. I'm sure whatever it is will pass in a few days." She seemed to calm down as he talked to her.

For a few minutes Christian just sat on the bed with Satine in his arms. He was very glad that he had taken Satine home with him. Christian noticed that not only was Satine not ready to be in the crowded rehearsal, she was not ready to leave his side. She didn't seem to remember that their love affair was supposed to be a secret. It would be nearly impossible to keep it that way if Satine kept having breakdowns at rehearsals. Only his affection seemed to stop them, and sooner or later someone would catch on.

Satine could sense that Christian was worried about something. "It's alright, Christian. I'm sure I'll be fine. Don't worry about me.

"I know you're going to be fine, Satine. It's just that this is going to make it a lot harder for us to keep our love a secret. Eventually, Harold is going to find it strange that you prefer being in my apartment than being anywhere else. I don't even want to think about what will happen when the Duke gets back and finds out about all of this." Christian said.

Satine had a blank expression on her face, and Christian could tell something was wrong. "What, what's wrong?" he asked.

Satine asked a question that Christian knew would make life a living hell for both of them.

"Christian, who is the Duke?

A.N. Wow, that chapter took a long time. I'm very sorry it took so long, but lets just say that exams are the living embodiment of evil. Hopefully the next one won't take as long because tomorrow is my last day of school. Also, by the way, GO SEE THE STEPFORD WIVES! I saw it yesterday and I loved it. Nicole Kidman is so great and Bette Midler is hilarious.


	6. Chapter 6

Falling 

A.N. Finally! I'm done with school for the year. Thanks for the positive reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge

Harold sat alone in his office. He had dismissed the rehearsal early that day. He couldn't concentrate on anything since Satine's fall. Not that it was the first time he had watched her fall from a set. Harold thought back to about a month earlier, when she had fallen from her swing. Although he hated to admit it to himself, watching Satine fall bothered Harold more than it should have. He had always stressed with the girls the idea that emotions had no place in the underworld. While all of the girls maintained a professional friendship, it was unlikely that they all cared about each other at all. With Satine, however, it was different. Everyone, especially Harold, deeply cared about Satine's well being. Watching her fall from that swing was the scariest moment Harold had experienced in years. Her more recent fall ranked right up there with that moment. And then there was her breakdown that morning.

Satine's breakdown wouldn't have been as scary to everyone if they hadn't seen it about 10 years earlier. While Marie's retelling of Satine's first day had been mostly accurate, there was one thing that she had misinformed Christian about. Satine had not been 16 when she first arrived. She had been just shy of her 13th birthday. Memories of that day filled Harold's mind.

_He had been sitting all alone in the main dance hall, with the exception of a few crew and band members coming in and out. The door opened, and Marie led in a small, scared young girl. The girl was painfully thin, and looked as if she had been living on the street for quite some time, but her red hair (a rare find) and blue eyes told Harold she could be a star. However, it soon became apparent that it would take a long time. As Marie led her across the room, she clung to her hand and looked as if she was about to cry. _

_ Marie led the girl to the front of the room. "I got a new one for you, Harold. This isÉwhat's your name, again?" she asked, looking in the girl's direction. _

_ The girl hesitated a bit as she answered. "Satine" she said, her voice barely loud enough for Harold to hear. Marie leaned close to Harold and whispered "Be careful with this one, she's still very young and she's scared to death_

_ Harold suggested that Satine meet the rest of the girls. He called them all to a meeting. "Girls, I'd like to introduce our newest performer. This is Satine._

_ Satine looked up at all of the tall (with the exception of the dwarf) heavily made-up women staring down at her. A wave of terror hit her and she ducked behind Marie. _

_ "I want to go home! I want my mommy." As Satine continued to sob, the rest of the diamond dogs either slowly walked away or stayed and helped Marie comfort her. The ones that stayed remembered their own first days all too well. Harold watched from a distance as Marie slowly lifted her up and sat down in a nearby chair, holding her on her lap._

That image had never left Harold. Even as the years went on and Satine matured, Harold always thought of her as that little girl crying on Marie's lap. That morning had been exactly the same, except instead of crying on Marie's lap she was crying on the writer's.

Just then, Christian entered the office. "Sorry if I'm disturbing you, Harold, but there's a problem with Satine that I think you should know about" he said.

"Well, what is it? Is she alright?" Harold asked.

"Physically, yes. But I'm afraid her memory is not bouncing back as quickly as we all thought it would. Harold, I tried to rehearse with her today. She can't remember half of her lines." Christian answered.

"Is that all? We can always have her rememorize them." Harold was relived for the moment.

"Actually, no. The real problem is that she has no memory of who the Duke is at all. And I don't think he will be happy to hear about this when he returns.

Harold thought for a moment about what would be the best thing to do. "Bring her over here, I need to see this for myself. Tell her there's no one else here, so she won't be afraid" he said.

Five minutes later Christian walked back into Harold's office, this time leading Satine in by the hand. Satine seemed scared, so Harold made an effort to speak in a soft voice so he did not cause another breakdown.

"Gosling, are you sure you're alright?" he asked. Satine shook her head.

"You really don't remember who the Duke is?" Satine shook her head again. Harold saw the familiar look in her eyes that said she was going to start crying. He thought of what the Duke's reaction would be when he found out that Satine no longer remembered who he was. Most likely he would take it out on Satine. Harold just could not allow his little sparrow to be put in any more danger. As much as it killed him to do so, he had to do it. He had to send her away.

"Christian, as of right now I'm putting the show on hiatus. We can't let Satine be here like this when the Duke gets back. You take Satine to London. I know you have a residence there and I also know of a doctor there who specializes in head trauma. I'll give you his name and address. Take Satine to him and get her some help. I'll write to the Duke and tell him we're taking a hiatus on account of his sickness. As soon as Satine is better, write to me and we'll decide what to do then.

Christian nodded, and stood up. This signaled Satine to do the same. Harold walked over to Satine and gave her a hug. "Goodbye, gosling" he said.

As Christian led Satine out of the office Marie, who had been listening at the door, took Satine's other hand. "Now you hurry up and get better, lovie. We'll see you soon.

Later on, back at Christian's apartment, Christian began to pack the few things he had brought to Paris. Satine sat on the bed and watched him. For some reason, Christian felt that Satine hadn't fully accepted that they were leaving. Suddenly, she spoke up.

"Christian, why do we have to leave? Why can't we let this Duke see me?" she asked.

Christian stopped what he was doing and walked over to her. "Well, the Duke is not exactly the most understanding person. If he found out that you didn't remember him, he might try to hurt you.

"Why is it so important that I remember him?" Satine asked. Christian sat down next to her. "The Duke thinks that you are in love with him, Satine. That's the only reason he's putting money into the show.

Satine was confused. "But, I'm in love with you. I love you, not some Duke. How can this Duke expect me to love him when I'm already in love with you?

"Satine, no one knows about us being in love yet. We've been hiding it. But you know what? When we get to London, we won't have to hide it anymore." As Christian said this to Satine, he realized it for himself. There was a silver lining to all of this.

Satine leaned her head against Christian's shoulder. As she drifted off to sleep she whispered "I think I'll like it in London.


	7. Capter 7

Falling 

A.N. Thanks for the good reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge

The next day, Christian and Satine were on their way to the docks to board a ship to London. Although Christian did feel some sadness at leaving Montmartre, he expected Satine to be much more emotional about the journey than he was. After all, she was leaving her home. Satine, however, didn't seem to be feeling anything but excitement that morning. During the trip to the docks, she asked Christian continuous questions about London. She seemed genuinely happy. At least she did until they arrived at the docks.

When they arrived at the docks, Christian helped Satine out of the carriage that had brought them there. At that moment, her questions stopped. She began to clutch Christian's hand even tighter than she had been already. At first, Christian was oblivious to her fear as he began to lead her through the large crowds of people to the ship.

As Christian led her through the crowds, Satine's "lost child" feeling began to return. "Only this time", she thought to herself, "it's different. I'm not in a building this time. I could really get lost out here. And I've defiantly never seen any of these people before except for Christian...Oh my God! Where is Christian!?" During her inner dialogue, Satine had inadvertently let her hand slip out of Christian's. Unsure of what else to do, she stopped walking and began to cry.

Luckily, Christian was only about twenty feet away from her, a close enough distance to hear her cries. He made his way back through the crowds to her side. As soon as she saw him, she ran into his arms.

"Christian, don't leave me like that! I was so scared" she said as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's alright, Satine. I'm right here. Come on, let's get to the ship. There will be fewer people there." Christian said. He took Satine's hand, more tightly this time, and continued to lead her to the ship.

Once Christian and Satine were on the ship and settled into their cabin, Christian continued to tell Satine about London.

"When we get to London, where are we going to live?" Satine asked.

"Well, we will probably stay with my family. Right now, I'm thinking that we will stay with my older sister, Molly. She married my brother-in-law Kyle, and they have a six-year-old daughter, my niece Blaire. They will be much easier to deal with than my parents and they live closer to the office of this doctor Harold recommended for you." Christian said.

Satine was about to respond when suddenly another familiar feeling came over her. However, this one had nothing to do with her fall or her memory. She began to cough violently.

"Satine, are you alright?" Christian was not sure what to do. Although Satine only continued to cough for about a minute, to him it felt like hours. After she had stopped coughing, Christian sat with her and rubbed her shoulders.

"I guess it's a good thing we're taking you to see a doctor" he said. Satine turned and looked at him. "It's nothing, really. Just a little cough. It will go away soon." Satine replied. She wished she could believe herself. The truth was, Satine was terrified that it wasn't "just a little cough". She had a feeling that it wasn't, and was afraid that her trip to the doctor in London would confirm her fears.

Christian and Satine spent most of their remaining time on the boat simply talking. Both of them took advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other better. When the boat arrived in London, Satine realized that she would have to walk through another crowded dock. As she and Christian approached the ramp to get off the boat, she grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear "Don't let go.

Christian smiled at her to let her know that he wouldn't let go as they began to walk down the ramp. They managed to reach the entrance to the docks with no major incidents and Christian began to lead Satine to his sister's house.

"We're walking there?" Satine asked as she looked around at the crowded city. "Great" she thought. "Just what I need. More crowds.

"Yes." Christian answered. "Why, are you feeling alright?" The coughing attack Satine had had on the ship had really worried him. He had never seen Satine have one of her coughing fits before.

"Yes, I'm fine." Satine said. "It's just that I'm, well

"Scared?" Christian finished. "Satine, it's fine if you're a little scared. You've never been here before. Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time. I won't let go. Ok?

Satine nodded, and the two of them began their journey to Christian's sister's house. Along the way, Satine briefly forgot about being scared as she took in her new surroundings. Having lived in and around Montmartre all of her life, London was a whole other world to Satine. Then again, everything seemed to be a whole other world to her these days.

After about forty-five minutes of walking, the pair reached a modest-sized house surrounded by a large yard. Satine suddenly felt a pang of nervousness about meeting Christian's family. She gripped Christian's hand very tightly as he rang the doorbell.

A young woman answered the door and flung her arms around Christian. "You're back! I thought we would never see you again! Kyle, Blaire, come see who's here!" she shouted back into the house. Her eyes then settled on Satine. "And who is this?" she asked.

"Molly, I'd like you to meet Satine, the love of my life." Christian said. Satine wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was such a wonderful feeling knowing that Christian considered her the love of his life.

"Oh, so you found love in Paris after all, did you?" said Molly as she led Christian and Satine inside. A young man appeared.

"Christian! Good to see you back so soon. And you have not returned alone, I see." The man, who Satine assumed was Kyle,shook Christian's hand. Christian introduced Kyle to Satine, once again calling her the love of his life.

Suddenly a little voice came through the room. "Uncle Christian! You're back!" A little girl, about six years old, came running in. Christian picked her up. "Hi Blaire! Did you miss me?" he asked. Blaire saw Satine, and was suddenly very shy. "Yes. What did you do in Paris?" she asked timidly.

"Well, Blaire, I fell in love. Blaire, this is Satine." Christian said. Blaire's voice got even softer as she greeted Satine.

"So Christian, what brings you back here so soon?" Kyle asked as Christian handed Blaire to Molly.

"Well, we're here to see a doctor for Satine. She suffered a head injury in Paris and we were given the name of this doctor." Christian said as he showed them the paper with the doctor's name and address. He was hesitant to mention exactly how Satine had suffered her head injury. Even though he knew Molly and Kyle would be much more understanding than his father would ever be of Satine, he still was unsure of how they would react to finding out she had been a courtesan.

"Oh, well if there's anything we can do to help..." Molly said. She had a feeling she knew what Christian was going to say next.

"Actually, Molly, there is." Christian said, confirming Molly's feeling. "We kind of need a place to stay, and since your house is closer to the doctors office, and not to mention a bit friendlier than Father's house, I was wondering if..."

"Of course you can stay here. Kyle, help them move their things up to the guest room." Molly said. Kyle took the bags from Satine's hands and began to climb the staircase. Christian took Satine's hand and the two of them followed. Satine was grateful that Christian had sensed her nervousness without her having to tell him.

Once Christian and Satine were settled into the guest room, Satine almost immediately fell asleep. Christian decided that was for the best. She would have a busy day tomorrow anyway. As Christian was preparing to go to sleep, he heard Satine start to cough, but nowhere near as violently as last time.

Before he turned off the light, he kissed her face gently and whispered "I love you, until the end of time.

A.N. Ok, so this chapter took a little longer. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can. Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Falling 

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge.

A.N. Thanks for the good reviews. Sorry this chapter took a little longer.

The next morning, Satine woke up before Christian. She suddenly felt very scared about the day ahead of her. She knew that today Christian planned to take her to the doctor. Satine had never had a strong fear of doctors before, nor did she have one now. She was more afraid of what she would find out while she was there. Satine knew that she couldn't keep pretending that her coughing fits would go away on their own. She also knew that something had happened to her in that fall that also wasn't going to go away. Either way, something was wrong with her.

Soon, Christian woke up. Satine decided to keep her fear to herself for now. Christian and Satine joined Molly, Kyle, and Blaire for breakfast before leaving for the doctor's office.

As they headed up the path in front of the house, Satine once again grabbed Christian's hand. The doctor's office was not too far away from the house, which was a good thing because the streets were much more crowded this morning than the previous day. When they reached the doctor's Satine was gripping Christian's hand so tightly that it was beginning to cut off his circulation. Christian knocked on the door with his free hand, and a tall, middle-aged man answered the door. "How may I help you?" he asked.

"Hello. My name is Christian James and this is Satine. We were referred to you by Harold Zidler" Christian said.

"Of course. Harold informed me that you would be coming soon. Please, come in." Christian and Satine followed the doctor inside. "Now, Harold told me that Satine has been experiencing some head trauma-like symptoms following a fall. Satine, can you explain to me what specifically has gone on?" he asked.

"Well, I just feel like I'm, well, lost. I feel like the only person in the world that I truly know is Christian. I recognize other people, like Harold, but recognizing them doesn't stop me from becoming afraid. Every time we go out, I have to be holding Christian's hand. It's like I'm small again. Everything is new to me, even the things in Paris that I had been seeing every day for years." Satine said.

The doctor looked at them and said "What you are describing is actually a very common result of a head injury. I have a few more questions, though. What type of surface did you fall on, Satine?

"A wood floor." Satine answered, but she wasn't positive that the stage had been wooden.

"And what area of your head hit the floor?" the doctor asked. Satine hadn't the slightest idea of exactly where on her head she had fallen. Thankfully, Christian did.

"She hit the left side" he said. Satine wondered how he could remember such little details.

The doctor wrote all of this on his notepad. "Well, I think I know of a way to help Satine. However, I'll need to give her a quick medical exam first, just to be safe. Satine, if you'll come with me we can get started. Christian, you can wait out here. 

A look of terror filled Satine's eyes. He wanted her to follow him alone? He wanted her to leave Christian? There was no way she could do that. The doctor and Christian both sensed Satine's fear. Christian went over to her and very gently touched her face.

"You'll be fine, Satine. I'll be right out here. I'm not leaving you" he said. Satine nodded and followed the doctor.

Satine's "quick" medical exam actually took over an hour. Christian now wished that he hadn't agreed to wait outside. He wanted to know what was going on in the office. He had a feeling that something was wrong with Satine that had nothing to do with her fall.

The doctor emerged from his office alone, which immediately scared Christian. "Mr. James, I need to speak with you for a moment" he said as he sat down.

"Has Satine been coughing a lot lately?" he asked. Christian nodded. "Well, Christian, I'm afraid I found out why and it's not good. As it turns out, Satine is in the moderate stages of consumption. It's a good thing you brought her to me when you did because without proper treatment, she will die.

Christian sat silent for a moment. How could this be happening? He looked up at the doctor. "What can we do to treat it?" he asked.

"Well, I have a suppressive medicine that will keep her from showing the symptoms of the disease, but it will keep progressing even with this medication. With Satine in the moderate stages already, what we really want to do is to stop the disease from progressing any farther. There is a new medication available that will do this, but it is risky considering how new it is. However, I will give it to you as it is the only resource we have." He handed Christian a small vial of medicine. "Also," he said, "do you live with any other people? Especially children?

"Yes, we live with my sister, brother-in-law, and their six-year-old daughter." Christian answered.

"Have them come by my place as soon as possible. They need to be vaccinated against the disease. Especially the six-year-old. Now, in addition to that medicine Satine will need lots of rest. The medication has a side effect of drowsiness so this really shouldn't be a problem. Also, keep her inside as much as possible. If it's warm out, sitting in the backyard is ok but I don't want her walking around London.

Christian agreed, and asked to see Satine. The doctor led him into the exam room, where Satine lay sleeping on the bed. Christian walked over to her and kissed her cheek. Satine woke up, and immediately started to cry.

"Christian, I'm going to die aren't I?" she asked through her sobs. Christian took out the bottle of medicine. "No, you're not. The doctor gave us some medicine that is going to help you. Now let's get you home." He helped Satine off of the bed and led her out of the room. Christian thanked the doctor and the two of them left the office, the same way they had came in. Only this time, Christian was holding Satine's hand more tightly than she was holding his.

A.N. Ok, when I said "a little longer" at the beginning, I guess that turned into "a lot longer." I promise the next one won't take as long.


	9. Chapter 9

                                                  Falling Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge 

         Molly was sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper when she heard the door open. She went into the entry hall to see Christian leading Satine up the stairs. Although she only briefly saw Satine's face, it looked as though she had been crying. Christian didn't look too happy, either.

         About five minutes later, Christian came back downstairs to find Molly waiting for him.

         "Molly, can I talk to you for a minute?" he said.

         "Ok, what's wrong?" she replied. She could see in his eyes that whatever it was, it was serious.

         "Today at the doctors, Satine was diagnosed with consumption. The doctor gave us some medicine that should help, but I'm going to need you to help me keep the house relatively quiet so she can rest." Christian loved his niece, but unfortunately she was exactly like her mother had been as a child-very noisy. "Also, you, Kyle, and especially Blaire have to go and be vaccinated so you do not catch the disease as well.

         Molly sat down for a moment to let all of the information sink in. "Wow. You take her there for a head injury and you come out with a disease like that" she said. She stood and told Christian to go be with Satine, and that she would take Kyle and Blaire for the vaccinations immediately.

         Christian was grateful to have an hour or so alone with Satine. He went back upstairs to find her sitting up in bed.

         "I thought you would be asleep" he said.

         "I know. I really am exhausted. I just can't sleep. Too many things keep running through my head." Satine replied.

         "Like what? Maybe if you tell me they will go away.

         Satine sighed, and said "It's just that, what if this medicine doesn't work, Christian? I don't want to die. I just want everything to get better.

         Christian sat next to her on the bed and took her in his arms. "I promise things will get better, angel. The medicine will work and you will be fine.

Satine looked at him and asked, "How can you be so sure? How do you know that I'll be fine?

Christian smiled and said "I know that you'll be fine because I'm going to be here the entire time making sure of it. I'm never going to let you go. Besides that, you are much tougher than any disease could ever hope to be.

"I sure haven't felt that way these past few weeks. All my life, I took pride in the fact that I never showed my pain. Nothing could hurt me. But since my fall, everything's been different. I can't stop crying, I can't sleep, and I know I must be putting a burden on you." Satine said.

"Well, you know what? I actually like it better this way." Christian said. This got a surprised expression from Satine. "I like it when I can see what you are feeling. Before, when you hid everything, it made me rather worried. You had a lot of stuff going on back in Paris and yet you didn't seem to be effected by it at all. You just smiled and acted like everything was alright.I like to know when something goes wrong, so I can help you" he continued.

As he held her, she began to cry again. Christian did the only thing he knew would help her sleep. He began to sing to her, very softly.

_Everybody cries_

_Everybody bleeds_

_No one ever said that life's an easy thing_

_That's the beauty of it_

_When you lose your way_

_Close your eyes and go to sleep _

_And wake up to another day_

_When your world breaks down_

_And the voices tell you turn around_

_When your dreams give out_

_I will carry you, carry you_

_When the stars go blind _

_And the darkness starts to blur your eyes _

_When you've fallen behind_

_I will carry you_

         Satine fell asleep, and Christian went back downstairs to find that Molly, Kyle, and Blaire had returned from the doctors. He saw Blaire sitting in the living room, not doing anything but staring at a wall. He went in and sat down next to her. Blaire turned her head slightly and looked at him.

         "Something bad is going on, isn't it?" she asked.

         Christian reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. "What would make you think that something bad was going on?" he said. He wasn't sure if Blaire really needed to know about Satine yet. Christian knew that Molly and Kyle would be just as worried about Satine as he was. The last thing he wanted to do was worry his niece.

         "When we were on our way to the doctors, Mommy and Daddy kept whispering. They always whisper when something bad happens that they don't want me to know about. Then I had to get a needle, and it wasn't even time for my checkup. Mommy and Daddy both got one too, and they never get sick. I know something bad is going on." Blaire said. Christian was unsure of whether to tell Blaire about Satine. However, he decided that she was going to be worried whether he told her or not, and that he might as well let her know what she was worrying about. He took a deep breath and began.

         "You're right, Blaire. There is something bad going on. Satine is, well, she's very sick. That's why you and your parents had to go to the doctor today. That needle he gave you was to make sure that you don't get sick too" he said.

         Blaire stared at the floor for a moment before asking "Is Satine going to die?

         Christian once again put his hand on her shoulder. "No, Blaire. The doctor gave us medicine for her. But she is going to be very tired, and she's going to need to sleep a lot so you can help her by being very quiet for the next few weeks, alright?" Blaire nodded before getting up and starting to run out of the room. "Where are you going?" Christian asked.

         Blaire turned and smiled as she said "I'm going to go make a get-well card for Satine.

         As Blaire bounded up the stairs, Christian decided that he should go check on Satine. He went into the bedroom to find her sound asleep.

         He was feeling rather tired himself and decided to go to bed as well. As he was going to sleep, he took Satine in his arms and whispered

"Come what may

I will love you until my dying day

A.N. Thanks for the good reviews. I'll try to keep these updates coming up pretty quickly. I've been a little busy lately but things are starting to slow down.


	10. Chapter 10

Falling 

A.N. Thanks for the positive reviews! By they way, I forgot to credit the song in the last chapter. It was "I Will Carry You by Clay Aiken".

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge

Back in Paris, Harold sat at his desk going through some paperwork. The Duke, fortunately, had bought his story about the show's hiatus being due to his health. Harold had managed to convince the Duke that his artistic involvement was such a vital part of the show they couldn't go on without him. Of course, the Duke was not that hard to trick, especially with flattery. As Harold continued going through the stack of bills and contracts, Marie came in with the day's mail. "Great, more bills I cannot pay." Harold thought as he sifted through the mail. However, the mail wasn't all bills.

"Marie, we got a letter from Christian!" Harold called down the hallway. Marie came back into the office as Harold opened up the envelope. He unfolded the letter and began to read it out loud.

Dear Harold, Marie, Toulouse, and all the rest 

_ I hope you are all doing well back in Paris. Harold, I hope the Duke bought your story, although I'm sure he did. He's not the brightest man. Things are going fairly well here in London. We are staying with my sister and her family. I took Satine to the doctor that you recommended. Unfortunately, we were given some bad news. Satine has been diagnosed with consumption. While this is a very serious disease, please don't be overly alarmed. She has been given a new medicine that should treat the disease and I am confident that it will work as long as she gets the proper rest, which could be a challenge seeing as how she can't seem to sit down for more than five minutes at a time. _

_ As far as her head trauma goes, we are waiting for the consumption to subside before looking further into it. I'm afraid this means that we won't be back quite as soon as we might have thought. If you would like to come and visit, I've left the address below. Just make sure that you are vaccinated against consumption before you come. Harold, the doctor you recommended can do this. _

_ Hope to hear back from you soon,_

_ Christian_

The news in the letter was so shocking that Harold had to sit down. His little sparrow with a fatal disease. He was now extremely glad that he had sent her to this particular doctor who could provide her with medication. Suddenly, Marie pulled Harold out of his thoughts.

"Look, there's something on the back" she said as she turned the letter over. Indeed, there was another message in different, shakier handwriting. This one read

_Dear everyone back in Paris_

_ I know what you must be thinking after reading Christian's letter, but I really am going to be fine. Please don't sit around worrying about me, as that won't do any of us a bit of good. Christian is taking very good care of me. I hope to see you all soon. _

_Love you all, _

_Satine xxoo_

Harold looked up from the letter and said "Marie, go pack your things. You, me, and Toulouse are going to London

Three days later, in London, Christian was downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast for himself and Satine. The drowsiness side effect of Satine's medicine, he had discovered, had a side effect of it's own. Satine would take the medicine at about noon every day, and then sleep for a good portion of the afternoon and evening. However, this meant that she would be wide-awake all night. Christian had quickly adapted this same sleep schedule so Satine would not have to sit up alone. This meant that the two of them almost always missed the household breakfast with Molly, Kyle and Blaire, forcing Christian to learn how to prepare meals. He was a pretty good cook, although there had been a few little mishaps involving a hot stove and a sagging apron. He was just finishing up the bacon when he heard a knock at the door. He made sure to turn the stove off (the cause of another one of his mishaps) and went to answer it.

When Christian answered the door, he was surprised to see Harold, Marie, and Toulouse standing on the front porch with suitcases in hand. When he had suggested in his letter that the come visit, he never expected them to come so soon.

"Christian, it's wonderful to see you! When we got you letter we just had to come and see how you are doing." Toulouse said as he struggled to carry his bags into the house. Christian wondered how he had managed to carry a full-size suitcase all the way through town. "Don't worry, we've all been to the doctors for the vaccinations.

Upstairs, Satine was sitting in bed bored as usual when she heard voices coming from downstairs. "That's odd, Molly and Kyle took Blaire to the park today" she thought to herself. The voices sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite recognize them. She knew that she had been told to stay in bed, but she couldn't resist investigating the voices. She slowly crossed the room and went to the top of the stairs. Suddenly, an immense joy filled her and she began to run down the stairs. "Harold! Marie! Toulouse!" she exclaimed as she hugged each one.

"Satine, I thought I told you toÉ" Christian started.

"Stay in bed, I know. But I heard voices and I wanted to see what was going on. What are all of you doing here?" Satine asked

"Well since the show is on hiatus and all we decided to come out here and visit you. How are you feeling, chickpea?" Harold's voice was filled with genuine concern, and he was careful to keep his voice softer than usual. He remembered what had happened the day Satine attempted to return to rehearsals.

"I'm fine, Harold. This medicine seems to be working. I haven't had any major coughing fits since I started taking it" Satine said. Christian then suggested that they all move into the living room, mostly because he wanted Satine to sit down, and then went to prepare enough food for their unexpected guests. Fifteen minutes later, the meal was ready. As everyone made their way into the dining room, Harold stopped Satine.

"Gosling, I'm so sorry that I let this disease get this far." Harold started.

"Oh, Harold. There was nothing you could have done to prevent

"But there was. All those times when you fainted onstage, or when you wouldn't show up for appointments and we'd find you unconscious I should have done something. I should have gotten you some help. If Christian hadn't come along than who knows what could have happened.

"But Christian did come, Harold. There's no point in thinking about what could have happened. It won't happen. And anyway, there was no way you could have known I was this sick. For all you or anyone else knew I was fainting from a lack of oxygen because of the corset. There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. Now, let's go eat." Satine said and the two of them joined the others in the dining room.

As everyone was eating, Christian heard the front door open. Molly, Kyle, and Blaire were home. "How am I going to explain this?" he wondered.


	11. Chapter 11

Falling Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge. 

Blaire entered the dining room first, and immediately let out a yell. "Mommy, help! There are strange people eating in the dining room!

"Now, Blaire don't be silly! There are no strangeÉ" Molly's sentence trailed off as she and her husband joined their daughter in the dining room. "Christian, do you know these people?

Christian got up and walked over to them. "Yes, I know them. Molly, Kyle, Blaire, these are some of the people I met in Paris. This is Harold, Marie, and this is

Before Christian could introduce Toulouse, he had already begun the job. "I am Henri Marie Raymond Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa." Toulouse said offering his hand to Molly. "You must be Christian's sister. Please, come and join us. We were just having lunch.

Christian and Satine both were very nervous during the meal. They hadn't exactly told Christian's family about Satine's past, and they were dreading the moment when Harold would bring up the Moulin Rouge. But by some small stroke of luck, that moment didn't happen and Christian's family seemed to be getting along well with the visitors.

After lunch, Satine stood up and said "Well, I'm going to go take my medicine now. I'll see everyone tomorrow." As she started up the stairs, Toulouse looked at Christian and asked, "It takes her all afternoon and night to take medicine?

Christian laughed and replied "No. The medicine makes her very drowsy, so she sleeps until about 7 or 8. Then she's up all night.

"Well, I'm not surprised by that. One gets very used to being nocturnal when in Satine's line of work." Harold said very frankly. This was it, the moment Christian had been dreading. He knew he had no choice but to explain exactly what Satine's "line of work" was. He couldn't lie, because his guests would call his bluff. The thing he was really dreading about this was that he couldn't say that Satine "was" a courtesan. According to Harold, she still was. After all, the show was not cancelled, only on hiatus. As Molly and Kyle looked at him for an explanation of Harold's last statement, Christian desperately tried to think of a way he could get himself out of this hole.

"Well, back in Paris, you see, Satine was a performer at the Moulin Rouge. That's how she got her head injury. We were rehearsing and she fell off of some stairs.

Surprisingly, his sorry attempt worked. As the group turned the conversation to different topics, it occurred to Christian that Molly, having being brought up by their conservative father, most likely was not aware of what the "performers" at the Moulin Rouge actually did. In fact, the only time the Moulin Rouge was mentioned in their house was the day Christian decided to leave. Kyle, from what he remembered, also had been raised in a very sheltered family and probably didn't know any more about the Moulin Rouge than Molly. "And that's the way it's going to stay" Christian thought to himself.

After about a half an hour, Harold, Marie and Toulouse went to get settled in at their hotel. Christian went upstairs, exhausted from having to entertain after being up all night. He found Satine already asleep. He was careful not to wake her as he got into bed. Before he turned off the lamp beside him, he kissed Satine gently on her forehead. "Sweet dreams" he whispered as he began to fall asleep.

Unfortunately, the dreams Satine was having were anything but sweet. She kept seeing this horrible man, claiming she was his. He kept trying to pull her away from Christian, and no matter how hard she resisted he wouldn't let go. She also kept hearing strange voices telling her that she needed to go with the horrible man, and that everyone was depending on her. She saw flashes of bright lights, and lots of people waving money in her face. She wasn't sure why, but she felt very venerable. It felt like all of the people wanted her, like they wanted to hurt her. The horrible man came again, and grabbed her

Satine awoke to the sensation of Christian shaking her arm. She looked around a few times, and smiled at him. "You were tossing around a lot. Are you alright?" Christian asked.

Satine sat up and nodded. "I had the strangest dream, though. This terrible man kept trying to take me from you. And these voices, they kept telling me to go with him and that everyone needed me to go with him. Then I saw all these lights and people, and they were shoving money in my face. Even though they were giving me money, it felt like they wanted to hurt me. I just don't understand it.

Of course, Christian understood the dream perfectly. The terrible man was the Duke. The lights and people with money were from all of her nights performing at the Moulin Rouge. Still, she would have remembered that part, wouldn't she? "Satine, the lights and people were from when you were performing at the Moulin Rouge" he said, hoping she would remember.

Instead, Satine turned to him and asked "Performing? But why would people be shoving money in my face if I was onstage in a play?

"Great." Christian thought to himself. "She doesn't remember being a courtesan. She thinks she was always a lead actress. With Harold here, this could be very, very awkward." Now he was faced with a new dilemma. Should he tell Satine about her past, or allow her to continue thinking she was always the lead actress?

Satine sensed that something was wrong. "I'm remembering something incorrectly again, aren't I?

Christian nodded. "See, the man in your dream was the Duke. Remember I told you about how he wanted you to be in love with him? Well, you were kind of supposed to sleep with the Duke.

"But why? I know no one knew about us, but why would they expect me to do that with someone I barely knew?

As much as it hurt him to tell her, Christian took a deep breath and replied "Angel, before the Moulin Rouge started putting on plays, you had a different job. You were a courtesan.

Satine looked at Christian with tears in her eyes. Christian slowly embraced her. As he held her, he thought "What else can go wrong?

Little did Christian know that the answer to his question was not far away. In a mansion in the hills, the Duke sat impatiently waiting for word from Paris. Warner came in and informed him that Harold had left for London, along with Satine and the writer. The Duke stood up and announced "We're going to London.

As Warner left to prepare the trip, the Duke said to himself "She will be mine


	12. Chapter 12

Falling

A.N. Thanks for the good reviews!

Satine woke up at about eight that night. She looked beside her and saw that Christian was still asleep. Not wanting to wake him, she slowly got out of bed and put on her pink robe. She stood and walked to the other side of the room and went outside onto the small balcony.

As Satine looked up at the just-darkened sky, she thought about what Christian had told her earlier. She had no doubt that what he said had been the truth. After all, why would Christian make something like that up? But why hadn't she remembered that? Forgetting some lines or some song lyrics, that was one thing. But forgetting such a defining part of one's life was much worse. Between her memory and her consumption, Satine felt as if her body was betraying her. "This is so frustrating!" she thought to herself. "I can't remember anything about my own life and at the same time I'm fighting a critical illness. I can't get any treatment for my memory because I can't go out, and..." Suddenly, a pain filled Satine's chest and she began to violently cough, a reminder that she should not have been outside at night.

Satine knew that she should have turned around and went back inside. The cold air was doing her fragile lungs no good whatsoever. But instead she turned her attention back to the sky. She thought back to when she was in Montmartre, desperately searching for some memory from before her fall. Softly, she began to sing to herself.

"One day I'll fly away". She wasn't sure exactly how she knew the song. It just came into her head. Just then another coughing attack hit her, and she decided that she should go back inside. She entered the bedroom and found the warm indoor air to be more of a relief than she thought it would be. She sat down on the bed, and noticed Christian was just waking up.

"Good morning, um" Christian was still accustomed to saying "good morning" upon waking up, even though it was a quarter past eight in the evening. Satine laughed. "I guess this is a little odd, isn't it?" she said as Christian reached up and touched her face. He immediately noticed that her face was cold.

"Satine, have you been outside?" Satine simply nodded in response to Christian's question. "You know that you shouldn't be outside when it's this cold out." Christian said.

Satine tried to defend herself. "But it was such a nice night and I didn't want to wake you up" she said. She leaned back against Christian and the two of them stayed on the bed for a long time, just enjoying each other's company. Despite her sickness and her memory loss, and despite Christian's chronic worrying, the two of them were happy.

As Christian and Satine were enjoying their moment of happiness, Harold was taking a walk outside of his hotel. Like Satine, he enjoyed being outside at night. Harold watched the people rushing past him, in a hurry to get home to their families. Suddenly, he made eye contact with another man. Although the contact was brief, it was enough to change Harold's walk into a sprint as he rushed back into his hotel.

Harold spent the rest of the night in worry. He needed to warn them. Had it not been so late he would have rushed over there at that very moment, although the man would most likely have followed him. But instead he waited until the next morning. When he arrived, only Christian and Satine were home. Molly had taken Blaire to a friend's house for a playdate and Kyle had left for work an hour earlier. Christian answered the door, still a little groggy from being woken up earlier than usual.

"Harold, what are you doing here so early? Where are Marie and Toulouse?" Christian asked as he suppressed a yawn.

"They're back at the hotel. Where is Satine?" Harold seemed frantic, and Christian informed him that Satine was still asleep. "That's good. This would only make things worse for her." After Harold said that, Christian was also starting to get a little frantic.

"What will make things worse? What is going on?

Harold took in a deep breath, which to Christian was a sure sign of bad news. "Last night I left the hotel to take a walk, and as I looked across the street, I saw the Duke. He's in London, Christian and I think he's looking for Satine.

Christian's world collapsed. The Duke couldn't be there. They were supposed to be free of him. That was the entire point to them leaving. He thanked Harold for letting him know, and started up the stairs to give Satine the worst news he could give her.

Five minutes later Satine sat in Christian's arms again. She had taken the news about the Duke, at first, more calmly than Christian had expected. Christian had then remembered that Satine had very little memory of who the Duke was, and had no reason to be afraid.

"Why is it so bad that he's in London?" she had asked.

Christian had explained to her that the Duke wanted to find her, and then Satine realized partially on her own that the Duke might want to hurt her. Although she had no understanding of why he would want to hurt her, this realization scared her nonetheless. In an attempt to calm both herself and Christian down, Satine began to sing softly.

Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight

_I need help believing you're with me tonight_

_My wildest dreams could not foresee _

_Lying beside you with you wanting me_

_And just for this moment as long as you're mine _

_I've lost all resistance and crossed some borderline _

_And if it turns out _

It's over too fast

_I'll make every last moment last _

_As long as you're mine _

Christian listened to her song, seeing how it calmed her. He wasn't sure where she had learned it, and he guessed that she wasn't sure either. He then added a song of his own, of their own.

_Never knew I could feel like this_

_Like I've never seen the sky before_

_Want to vanish inside your kiss_

_Everyday I love you more and more_

_Listen to my heart can you hear it sing_

_Telling me to give you everything_

_Seasons may change, winter to spring_

_But I love you until the end of time._

Satine softly continued the song.

_Come what may_

_Come what may_

_I will love you until my dying day_

She turned her head and looked at Christian. "Everything will be fine, right?" she asked.

Christian nodded and answered "Yes. Everything will be fine." although he wasn't sure if he believed this himself.

Outside, someone stood by the bushes looking up at the one lit window. He knew this was the correct house.

A.N. The first song used in this chapter is "As Long As You're Mine" from the musical Wicked. The second is Come What May.


	13. Chapter 13

Falling

A.N. Sorry this took so long. I've been busy getting ready for the "s" word to start up again. Thanks for the good reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge.

The rest of that day passed as if nothing was wrong. When Molly and Blaire returned home, Christian thought it best to not inform them about the Duke. Molly and Kyle had yet to be informed of who the Duke was, and giving them more information on the Duke would mean giving them more information on Satine's past. Both Christian and Satine kept up an act of being alright which the family seemed to believe. At certain moments even Satine forgot that anything was wrong. However, when it came time for her to take her medicine and go to bed, she had a sudden pang of fear.

"Christian, what if he comes when we're asleep?" she asked. Christian gently reminded her that Molly, Kyle, and Blaire would all be awake. For once, Satine was glad for her unusual sleeping routine. There was never a moment in the house where everyone was asleep. With this knowledge, Satine was able to sleep easier.

As Christian and Satine slept upstairs, Blaire looked out the window in the living room. She had heard something during lunch, and although her parents had told her it was just the wind she knew it was something else. As she stared out the window, she noticed that some of the shrubs seemed to be moving. She watched the shrubs for fifteen minutes before her mother called her for dinner. As she walked out of the room, she told herself "It's just a rabbit. That's all it is. A silly little rabbit." But part of Blaire knew that there was something much more dangerous than a rabbit in the shrubs.

The man outside was now crouched in the bushes. He had been watching the house all day. However, he was not focused on the people inside. He knew that Christian and Satine were in that house. Instead, he kept his focus on the surrounding yard and the street in front of the house. He knew that eventually his reason for being here would come.

After dinner, Blaire received her parents' permission to play outside. She immediately went to the moving shrub and moved the leaves. She resisted the urge to scream at what she saw. Sitting in the shrub was a slim, dark-skinned man. Instead of screaming, she simply asked "Who are you?

The man smiled. "My name is Chocolat. I'm a friend of Satine's from Paris." To Chocolat's relief, Blaire accepted this and sat down next to the shrub. When asked what he was doing in the plan, Chocolat replied "Well, I'm here to help Christian and Satine.

"Are you going to make Satine's memory better or make her not be sick?" Blaire asked. Chocolat shook his head. "No, but I wish I could. I'm here to protect her and Christian from someone. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone that I'm here.

Blaire knew that she was always supposed to tell her parents about any strangers she met. She also knew that her parents wouldn't be happy about a man living in their garden. But Blaire sensed that Chocolat needed to be there. If he was there to protect Satine and Christian, then he should be left to do that. She didn't want any more bad things to happen to either of them. No one knew it, but Blaire often heard the conversations they had at night. She knew how scared Satine was, even though she didn't know why. So Blaire decided to keep Chocolat her secret for now.

Later that night, after Christian and Satine had woken up and Blaire and her parents were in bed, Chocolat saw a figure walking towards the house. Instead of coming up to the front door, the figure walked around the side of the house. Chocolat got up and followed him.

Upstairs, Christian and Satine were sitting in bed, enjoying each other's company. They tried to keep as quiet as they could at night, because they knew Blaire's room was right next door. Suddenly, they both heard a noise. Christian went out onto the balcony to see two shadows moving around on the lawn. He ran back through the room and down the stairs without explaining to Satine what he saw. Not wanting to be up there alone, Satine grabbed a warm coat and followed him.

She found Christian crouching by the back door, watching two men argue in the backyard. Although she couldn't remember his name, Satine vaguely recognized the dark-skinned man. However, the other man was completely new to her. Or so she thought. She crouched down behind Christian as the two men continued fighting. One said something about leaving her alone and not hurting her. The other said something about her being his. Suddenly, it hit Satine that she had seen this man before. This was the man from her dream, the one who kept tearing her away from Christian. This was the Duke.

Christian turned, and was startled by seeing Satine behind him. He noticed that something was wrong. Normally, Satine made direct eye contact with him but as he looked at her now her eyes seemed to be staring back into space. Well, not into space. She was staring into the backyard. Her eyes remained fixated on the fight that was going on. Christian gently guided her farther away from the door where neither of them would be seen. Too afraid to do anything else, Satine listened as the two men exchanged arguments. The Duke kept insisting that she was his, and that he had a contract saying so. The dark-skinned man retorted that it was impossible to own a person and that she was free to love whomever she wished. Satine listened as the two men continued to exchange verbal insults. Then she heard one of the most terrible sounds she had ever heard in her life. The sound of a gunshot.

Satine watched in horror as Chocolat fell to the ground. "Chocolat," she suddenly remembered. "His name is Chocolat." It was as if the gunshot had released all of her lost memory. All at once, she knew exactly who Chocolat was and who the Duke was. She knew where she had come from and remembered her time at the Moulin Rouge. As her memory returned, she suddenly became enraged at the Duke for hurting Chocolat. Christian, who had also been fixated on the argument, was just as enraged and ran out onto the lawn though he knew that wasn't the safest thing to do.

"Damn you, Duke. Why did you hurt him?" Christian yelled as he exited the house. The Duke smiled at seeing Christian was so close to him, so within his reach. Now he could finish the job. "He was in my way," the Duke said as he moved closer to Christian with every intent to shoot him. However, the Duke had not intended on encountering Chocolat and had used up his one bullet already. Upon finding his gun useless, the Duke went for the next best thing-his fist.

Christian fell to the ground, cutting himself on a stray tree branch. Satine rushed into the yard to his side and knelt down next to him, not caring about the Duke or what he might do to her. As she tried to stop the bleeding, she felt a familiar feeling come into her throat. She began to cough violently and it wasn't long before she felt lightheaded. As she blacked out, she heard voices. Some she recognized, some she didn't but somehow she knew that they would help them.

A.N. Wow, that took a long time! Sorry! School started and things have been getting kind of crazy here. Hopefully the next one won't take quite as long. Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

Falling 

A.N. Thanks for the good reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge

When Satine woke up again, she was in bed. As her vision slowly came back into focus, she realized Christian was lying next to her, also awake. Granted, he was also wincing in pain from Molly cleaning the cuts on his arm, but he was still awake.

"Honestly, Christian it can't sting that badly!" Satine said causing both him and Molly to turn towards her.

"Oh, thank God you're awake! We were getting worried." Molly said as she put down the rag she had been using to clean Christian's cuts. "I think you're just about done for now" she said to Christian. "You two should get some rest." After she left the room, Christian turned towards Satine.

"Are you alright, angel? You fell pretty hard" he said as he reached over and stroked her face. Satine smiled slightly, and nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just glad you're alright. Christian, what happened after I passed out? How is Chocolat?" she asked.

"Well, he's going to be in the hospital for awhile but he should beÉwait a minute. You remember who Chocolat is?" Christian stopped his answer when he realized that Satine had just remembered a name from her past; something she had not done on her own since her fall. "Satine, has your memory come back?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. I'm not quite sure what happened, but when I heard that gunshot everything just came rushing back to me. I suddenly remembered who Chocolat was and why the Duke was here. I know it wasn't safe to run out into the yard, but when I saw you fallÉthat was the most frightening thing I had ever seen in my life." Satine's tone changed gradually from being happy to almost being in tears as she spoke. Christian embraced her with his uninjured arm.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here. Everyone is going to be fine" he said. The two of them sat in silence for awhile before Satine spoke up.

"Christian, can we go visit Chocolat? I just need to know that he's alright" she asked. Christian thought for a moment, and replied,

"Well, we'll have to ask a doctor. It's been getting cooler out and your consumption has been acting up lately. It may not be the best idea for you to go out right now

"Please, Christian? We don't have to stay long, and even if I do have an attack we'll already be at the hospital." Satine looked at Christian with a look that she had dubbed the "look of innocence". As a child, the look had gotten her candy or a new toy. As a courtesan, the look had become part of her "wilting flower" routine. It had even convinced Harold to give her a day off now and then. She had no doubt that it would work on Christian.

Christian laughed and said "Well, now I know you've gotten your memory back." This was not the first time Satine had used her look of innocence on him. She had used it back in Paris to get him to stay with her in her dressing room a few extra minutes or to put a line that she particularly liked into the show. Satine was right, however. The look did work on Christian. He agreed that as soon as they both were up to it, they would go and visit Chocolat.

As it turned out, that was the next day. As they walked down the hospital hallway, Satine held onto Christian's hand. She had always been a little scared of hospitals. From every room she heard coughing and moaning. What scared her most was the idea of how close she came to being in that position.

When they reached Chocolat's room, Satine let Christian enter first. Both of them were relieved to find Chocolat sitting up in the bed, laughing with Harold and Toulouse. Once Satine assured everyone that she was indeed fine, she turned her attention to Chocolat.

"Chocolat, I'm so sorry. All of this is my fault. If I had never fallen off of those stairs, none of this would have happened. I've ruined everything. Now Chocolat's hurt and I'm sick and we have no money for the show" she said. Harold stood up and went to her side.

"Gosling, none of this is your fault and you did not ruin anything! Chocolat is fine, you're going to get better and we actually have more money for the show than we did before." Both Satine and Christian were shocked to hear this. Harold went on to explain that part of the Duke's sentence for shooting Chocolat was to pay a settlement both to him and to his place of employment for the lost work time. The settlement paid to the Moulin Rouge was quite a large sum, more than the Duke was willing to pay according to the original contract.

Chocolat reached up and touched Satine's hand. "He's right, Satine. And now we won't have that Duke breathing down our necks anymore. We can do the show the way we want to. And I really am fine. I'm getting out of here in a couple of days" he said.

Harold put his hand on Satine's shoulder. "We're all going to stay here in London until you're better. If something happens, we want to know right away without waiting for a letter to travel from here to Paris. Once you're better, we're going to start the show up again.

Satine smiled and looked around the room. "Well, we really should be going. I'm not supposed to stay out for too long in this cool weather" she said. As Christian followed her out of the room and down the hallway, he asked her,

"What was that? That is the first time since you were diagnosed that you've actually recognized that you need to be at home.

Satine stopped walking and turned towards him. With a confidence in her voice that Christian hadn't heard for months, she said, "I'm going to get better, Christian, and that's not happening if I don't start taking better care of myself.

Christian smiled as they continued down the hallway. It was official, his diamond was back.

A.N. Well, that didn't take as long as the last chapter! I think this story is going to start wrapping up soon-probably about two more chapters. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

Falling

A.N. Thanks for all the good reviews! I hope you enjoy chapter 15.

Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge

Satine walked home from the hospital, went up the stairs, and got into bed. And with a determination that Christian was more than happy to see resurface she stayed there. The more time passed, the stronger her determination grew. Satine went from over exerting herself to barely exerting herself at all. Although Christian was happy to see this strength returning, he still had one question for Satine.

"Now, what is it that brought about this sudden willpower?" he asked her one evening.

Satine thought for a moment and said, "Christian, everyone is just sitting here in London, waiting for me to get better. Meanwhile, there is a whole cast of people back in Paris wondering if we're still alive. This illness is the only thing standing in the way of all of this finally being over. I want this to be over, Christian. I want my life back.

Christian kissed Satine on the forehead and replied, "And with that attitude you'll get it back sooner than you think.

And Christian was right. As the weeks passed, Satine's health began to get better and better. The doctor was astonished. Very few patients in Satine's condition ever recovered, let alone as fast as she did. Eventually, she was deemed well enough to travel, though her illness was not fully healed yet. Satine, however, still insisted on staying.

"If I go back to Paris now, the air is going to cause a relapse and then I'll be worse off than I am now. It's better if we just wait until I am fully recovered," she had said. Christian wasn't about to argue with that, so they remained in London for a few more weeks. As Satine slept one afternoon, she was awoken by a sound that she had not heard in a long time: the sound of Christian typing. Slowly, she got out of bed and crossed the room. When she reached his side, she put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"What are you writing?" she asked playfully.

"Well, seeing as how we're going back to Paris soon, I figured that I should start finishing up the show. When you fell I only had it about halfway written.

"Oh, well how far are you now?" Satine gently bent over his shoulder in an attempt to read what he had written. Christian quickly covered as much of it as he could with his hand.

"No, not yet. I don't want you to see it until I'm done with this scene" he said. Satine turned around and started to walk back to the bed.

"In that case, I guess I'll justÉtake it from you!" Satine forgot about conserving her energy for a moment and ripped the page from the typewriter. Christian leapt up and chased her to the bed, tackling her onto it. By now, both of them were laughing hysterically. Christian rolled over and looked at the ceiling. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this happy.

After two more weeks had gone by, Satine was officially declared free of consumption and the group prepared to return to Paris. It was raining on the morning of their departure, so Christian, Satine, Christian's family, Harold, Marie, Toulouse, and Chocolat were all huddled on the front porch of the house saying their goodbyes. After everybody had hugged everybody and the final goodbyes were said, the group piled into the carriage for the ride to the shipyard.

As the carriage rolled along, Satine sat silently, listening to Christian describe the new scenes for the show to Harold. At any other time, Satine would have paid closer attention, especially since these were the same scenes that Christian had not wanted her to read a few weeks earlier. However, she wasn't really paying attention to what Christian, or anyone else, was saying. She stared out the window at the rain, thinking about when she had first arrived in London and how much had changed since that day. Things in Paris would be much easier now. She had no doubt in her mind that the show would be a huge success. After all, her penniless poet was very talented. And now, with no Duke to bother her and her love affair out in the open, she was free to spend as much time with Christian as she wanted. Satine knew that she should have been bursting with happiness, but for some reason she still felt a pang of sadness.

When the carriage arrived at the shipyard, Christian saw that Satine was no longer scared of large crowds of people. Rather than having him lead her to the ship, Satine took charge of the group and led them through the crowd of rain-soaked people to the correct boat. Once everyone was situated in their cabins, Christian sat down on the bed beside Satine.

"Is everything alright? You seemed a little upset on the ride to the shipyard." Christian asked. Satine leaned back, resting her head on his chest.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous, that's all" she said. Christain began to rub her shoulders and asked,

"Nervous? About what?

"Christian, on the ride to the shipyard I realized something. Everything is better. My memory loss, my consumption, the Duke, they're all gone.

Christian was confused by Satine's response. "And this is a bad thing because

"Christian, I never have had a happy ending. Even when one problem went away, there has always been another one to take its place. I just can't help feeling like when we get back to Paris something's going to happen.

"Listen," Christian said, "you are going to get you're happy ending. Your memory is fine, the doctor said your consumption is gone, and the Duke is in a London jail somewhere. Everyone at the Moulin Rouge is fine. In fact, I'm sure they'll be much happier than the last time you saw them seeing as they've been on vacation for the past two months.

Satine couldn't help but giggle at this. "Yeah, you're right" she said as she let out a yawn. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep in Christian's arms.

-Two Weeks Later-

Kiss...Hand

_Diamonds Best Friend_

Satine was again going through her opening routine. This time was different, however. This time it was opening night. Upon her return from London, the cast went back to work and rehearsed every day for two weeks, incorporating Christian's new scenes into the show.

There were also some other changes made. Christian had suggested that Satine not dance down the stairs anymore, so the routine had been changed to have the male dancers pass her down the stairs instead. Satine, as well as Christian, had been very relieved by this.

_Diamonds Are A_

_Diamonds Are A_

_Diamonds Are A_

_Girls...Best...Friend_

As the audience applauded, Satine thought to herself, "This is it. It's finally happened. I'm a real actress.

A.N. Ok, so that took a little longer than I expected. I've had to do some other writing for school so I haven't had a lot of free time lately. OK, one more chapter to go-the epilogue! I will have it up as soon as I can!


	16. Chapter 16

Falling 

A.N. Thanks for the reviews!

-Six Months Later-

Come What May 

_I Will Love You _

_Until My Dying_

_Day_

As the final note of what had become Montmartre's favorite song rang out across the Moulin Rouge, the cast and audience felt a twinge of sadness. Tonight was the final showing of Spectacular, Spectacular. Although the original prediction of the show running for fifty years did not come to pass, the six-month run had been extremely well received. As the audience gave them a standing ovation, Satine looked out at Christian, seated in his usual spot in the front row.

The curtain fell, and the cast took their places for curtain call. One by one the cast members paraded onstage to thundering applause. Taking her place in the center of the stage, Satine signaled for everyone to quiet down.

"As you know, tonight will be our final performance of Spectacular, Spectacular." This was met with "awws" from the audience. "Well, tonight I'd like to give credit to someone who, I feel, has been sort of ignored in the past. Without this man, this play would have never made it to this stage, and I would not be here performing it tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce our writer, Christian James!

Christian slowly stood up as the audience resumed clapping. Over the applause he could hear Satine saying, "Come on up here, Christian. This is your moment too!" Slowly, he made his way onto the stage and stood by Satine's side.

The audience continued applauding for several minutes until the cast took a group bow and the curtain closed.

Later, Satine came out of her dressing room to find Christian standing alone on the empty stage. Slowly, she went to his side and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Well, it's over." Christian said. There was a hint of sadness in his voice that Satine could not ignore.

"Yes, but think of all the free time that will leave us. We can start our life together now.

Christian thought for a moment, and replied "Yes, that is true. But how are we going to pay for our life together if the show is over? This show was both your job and my job. What am I going to write now?" Christian sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands.

Satine slid onto his lap and said "Why not write about this?

At first, Christian didn't understand what she meant. "About what?

"About us. Our story, Christian. About how I fell and got sick and about the Duke.

"You know, that's a good idea!" Christian said. "I always loved the stories that ended with the people living happily ever after.

And so the next morning Christian set to work writing down everything that had happened to them in the past few months. At times, it was hard. Certain phases of the story didn't bring back such happy memories. However, in a very short time Christian had finished. After all, he wanted to get to the happy ending as fast as he could.

Getting the book published was easier than Christian had expected, and the book became a huge success. While people outside of Paris fantasized about what Satine looked like based on Christian's writing, those in and around Montmartre knew all too well that the "sparkling diamond" described in the book was the same woman they had seen at the Moulin Rouge, or heard about from someone who had.

Harold, eager to capitalize on Christian's success, asked him to become the permanent writer for the Moulin Rouge theater. Satine eventually convinced him to take the job. She wanted to spend as much time with Christian as possible.

One evening, after rehearsals for the new show had gotten underway, Satine returned late from a costume fitting to find Christian asleep. Quietly, she got ready for bed. Before turning the light out, she looked around at the room. She smiled at what she saw. Photos, papers everywhere, clothes thrown all over, her little bird in it's cage.

She saw her happy ending.

A.N. Well, that's it! I hope everyone's enjoyed this story. Thanks again to all the people who reviewed, even when it took me much longer than it should have taken me to update!


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